


Catch Me Again

by quiet_rebel



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Angst, F/M, Season 2 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-11 10:45:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4432598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet_rebel/pseuds/quiet_rebel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 2 spoilers. | “You caught me once; Maybe on the flipside, you could catch me again.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Catch Me Again

**Author's Note:**

> Well, the angst has returned. That didn't take long.
> 
> Can you blame me after listening to these two soundtracks?  
> http://8tracks.com/neddle/spare-me-all-your-loving  
> http://8tracks.com/kat5587/baby-run
> 
> Title is from "Flipside" by Lana Del Rey  
> https://youtu.be/QYi4ajAnAyY
> 
> Feedback is fuel.

Later.

Much later.

Seth turns a corner and sees a figure approaching him.

It's Kate.

She's alive.

_And so am I._

She still wears black. That hasn't changed. But the weapon in her hands has. It's a crossbow. Where the fuck did she learn how to use a—

Another shadowy figure emerges behind her. Long, black duster. Boots. A stern face with a twisted frown under a black cowboy hat.

Seth's breathing hitches at the sight of the ranger. He expects another shoot out, anticipates the gunfight, but the only thing he hears is Kate.

“Seth!” echoes in the warehouse. Behind him culebras burn. None of them are Richie.

Black smoke threads through the air, but Seth can still see Kate making her way toward him. Then, her steps quicken.

The last time he saw Kate, she was slowly walking away from him, and now, she's running to him.

He drops the red gasoline canister. She drops the crossbow.

When they collide, it's her arms wrapped around his neck; it's his heart beating against her chest; it's her smile turned toward his face; it's his lips on top of her head.

Seth lifts his gaze to the ranger, who is watching their reunion silently. With his eyes, Seth pleads with the other man to let him have this moment. They can discuss revenge later. The ranger steps back, and Seth squeezes Kate tighter in his embrace.

_She's alive._

And so am I.

**

Kate leans against the motel room door and crosses her arms. Freddie does the same on other side of the room as he leans back against the wall. He hasn't removed his jacket or hat. Probably still pissed that Seth Gecko showed up tonight and took care of the culebras without leaving any action for them. Or maybe just pissed at Seth Gecko, period.

“What?” she says.

“He's gotta go.” Freddie points to the window, where outside, Seth sits in the parking lot and waits. 

“Go where?” she asks.

He shrugs. “It doesn't matter to me. We don't need him around, Kate.”

_But Seth shouldn't be alone right now._

Freddie wasn't there to see the heroin or the alcohol or the nightmares.

The ranger drops his arms with a heavy sigh. “You remember what you told me, don't you? You left Seth because it was getting too dangerous. Do you really want to go down that path again? After everything?”

She stares at the brownish-red carpet and thinks about blood. Over these past few months, she has seen so much of it. And she thinks about Scott, how close she and Freddie had been to saving him until he made the choice to leave.

_“Look at me, Kate!” His lips curled back to reveal his fangs and his yellow eyes flashed in the night. “I'm not your brother anymore!”_

But she isn't going to stop looking for Scott, not until she can find him and tell him they will always be family no matter what.

Maybe, just maybe, Seth is on the same mission.

The only difference is Kate isn't sure if Seth plans to deliver a wooden stake through his brother's heart or not.

“Okay,” she says to Freddie. “I'll tell him he has to go.”

He nods. “You're making the right choice, Kate.”

_Then, why do I hate myself right now?_

She finds Seth sitting on the hood of his Camaro drinking from a beer bottle. His black suit jacket is covered in gray ash. Without saying anything, she sits next to him. It feels nice, familiar.

“Let me guess,” he says. “The ranger wants me gone by morning.”

“More like in two minutes.” She studies him with a small smile. “You shaved.”

He rubs his smooth jaw, then slides his hand to the nape of his bare neck. “Cut my hair too.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“I noticed that crossbow.” He takes a drink from his beer. “What? Guns and stakes weren't enough?”

Her smile widens. “This is coming from the guy who just blew up a warehouse.”

“I guess I'm moving up to the big leagues,” he says with a smirk.

“Yeah? Well, me too.”

He laughs.

This might be the first time she's heard Seth laugh. Not a mean one. Not a sarcastic one. A real, honest-to-God laugh.

“Are we really going to to do this?” she asks.

He stops laughing and says, “Do what?”

“Forget what happened that night?”

“Hey, you made that choice all on your own, princess.” He takes a long swig of beer. “I clearly remember you screaming at me to stop the goddamn car.”

“And I clearly remember you yelling at me that if I couldn't handle being with you anymore, that I should just leave.”

He glares at her with dull, dark eyes. “And that's what you did.”

A minute ago, Seth was laughing; now he's full of spite and bitterness.

Now she remembers what it was like to be with him those three months in Mexico. His ups, his downs. His highs, his lows. Never knowing which version of Seth she would have to endure that day. Freddie's right; she can't go down that same path again.

“Good bye, Seth.” She jumps down from the hood, and before she even takes three steps, Seth grabs her wrist. She turns around, ready for his next words to hit her. 

“I'm sorry,” he says.

The two words do hit her, but in an unexpected way. This might be the first time she's heard Seth apologize too.

He gestures to the car. “Come back and tell me about that crossbow.”

Kate looks down at his hand on her wrist, then lifts her gaze to his face. It conjures up the memory of the Seth Gecko she almost ran over with the RV, when he was just a weirdo.

The Seth Gecko she looks at now is broken and whole. She knows how to get under his skin and she knows what keeps him up at night. She has seen him at his lowest point and she has prayed for him and his soul. He's no longer a stranger.

“Okay,” she says.

They return to the car and sit back down on the hood.

Kate tells him about how she returned home to Bethel. How she found Freddie and Scott. How Scott rejected her help and took off again. How she's going to keep looking for him.

And she listens to Seth as he tells her about Sonja. How they started to share a bed after she helped him find some jobs. How he left her behind in Mexico after the Regulator came after them too.

“So, how did you end up back in Texas?” she asks. “Are you looking for Richie?”

He scoffs at her question. “More like he's looking for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I called my uncle Eddie last week and guess what he told me? Richie had stopped by to see him and was asking around about me. The bullshit line Richie told our uncle—you're never going to believe this—was that he was worried about me. Can you believe that shit?”

“Well, what if he is?”

He lifts his brows. “Are you serious?”

“I worry about Scott all the time,” Kate says. “I don't care what he is. He's still my brother.”

“Yeah, well...” He lets the thought wander as he finishes his beer. Then, he throws the empty bottle into the parking lot, and a moment later, the glass shatters as it strikes the cement. Seth stares out into the darkness. “I'm glad you're with the ranger.”

_"And not with me”_ hangs silently in between them.

“You know, after you left that night, I shot myself up with so much heroin, I was sure I was going to OD,” Seth says.

“Is that what you wanted?” she asks softly.

“Maybe. I don't know.” He turns to her, and she remembers this Seth too. Honest, open, truthful. “But that was the last time, I shot up,” he continues. “I haven't touched the stuff since.”

Kate doesn't congratulate him; she knows that's not what he wants. Instead, she takes his hand into hers and interlaces their fingers. He responds by placing his other hand on top of hers. For a moment, she thinks she can change Freddie's mind; Seth can stay with them, with her. 

But then, Seth lets her go and slides down the hood. “I should probably get going before Mr. Lawman thinks I kidnapped you again.”

She laughs and tries to keep the tears from falling. Her feet touch the ground and she watches as Seth opens the driver's door. 

Before he gets in, he says, “I hope you find Scott.”

“I hope Richie finds you,” she says.

Seth gives her a tight smile and climbs into the car. As he drives off, the red back lights fading into the night, she wonders if this aching hollowness is the same thing he felt when she left him on the side of the road. She drove away from Seth thinking she was never to see him again, but tonight proved her wrong.

Who knows? Maybe it can happen again.


	2. Catch You Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 2 spoilers | "You caught me once; Maybe on the flipside I could catch you again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Part 2, now with double the angst!
> 
> Title is from "Flipside" by Lana Del Rey  
> https://youtu.be/QYi4ajAnAyY
> 
> Feedback is fuel.

_Never again._

_Kate takes his hand and doesn't let go._

_“All right, Seth,” she says, nodding, because she finally believes her own words. “It's all right now.”_

_He lifts his tired expression, eyes glazed over from fighting a war he didn't know he already won. “Stay. Will you stay with me?”_

_She tries to smile, but tears slide down her cheeks instead. “Ask me again.”_

_Seth pulls his hand from her grasp, shakes his head, and says, “Do you want to?”_

_“Do I need to?”_

_“Want and need are two different things, Kate.”_

_“So,” she pauses as she chooses her next words wisely, “do you want or need me to stay?_

_Seth takes Kate's hand. Dried blood and dirt caked under their fingernails. Palms pressed together. Warm, comfortable. Why did they ever let each other go in the first place?_

**

A week after running into Kate and the ranger, Seth finds himself standing in front of the cooler inside the gas station. He stares at the rows filled with booze, an escape from this screwed-up life, but he doesn't open any of the doors. Anything he grabs will only be temporary. 

His hand slides into his left pocket and touches the small plastic baggie filled with white powder. He had lied to Kate when he said he hadn't touched the stuff since she left him. He touches the bag time after time—as a reminder that all this pain, all this shit, is better than being dead.

But if he's being honest, he does think about using one more time.

One last time.

But not tonight.

He pulls his hand out from his pocket, and as he looks up, he catches a reflection in the cooler door. _It can't be..._

Seth turns around, eyes wide as he stares at Richie. His brother dressed in a black three-piece suit, his long hair slicked back to reveal his stoic face, no longer hidden behind a pair of glasses. 

Seth's hands turn to fists at his sides, but before he can throw the first punch, Richie's arms wrap around him.

He gives Seth a tight hug and says, “It's good to see you, brother.”

Seth freezes for a moment, then his fists uncurl. Before he knows it, he's hugging Richie back.

**

Sometimes Kate catches Freddie giving her that look. That “I'm sorry your life sucks” look. His dark eyes filling with pity and sadness. She wants to tell him she doesn't need his sympathy, but she bites down on her tongue. Freddie has been nothing but good to her—and to Scott, even if her brother did try to attack them back in Bethel. The ranger cares, and for that, she is grateful.

But as they sit in the diner, Freddie is giving her that look. She's not sure if she can bite down hard enough on her tongue this time. 

“Not hungry?” he asks, gesturing with his fork to her untouched stack of pancakes.

She eats a piece, and when he returns to his plate of waffles and bacon, she puts down her fork and takes a sip of her coffee. A habit she had picked up from Seth. She's just missing the cigarettes.

And she would do anything for a drag right now.

Her sleepless night had been filled with dreams: Scott covered in blood, fangs sinking into their father; her father's yellow eyes right before she plunged a wooden stake into his chest; visions of her mother whispering in her ear, “I want to die,” and when she pulls away, it's no longer her mother she's holding.

It's Seth.

“I want to die,” he says in a voice filled with so much despair and hopelessness it startles her awake.

_I can't save you, Seth._

_I can't even save myself._

“Kate?” Freddie's voice breaks through her reverie. “Did you hear what I said?

“Oh, sorry, I was just...” And she stops because his eyes narrow and soften; it's that look again. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

She leaves the table and heads to the back of the diner, but instead of entering the women’s restroom, she sneaks out the exit. Outside the diner, she leans against the wall and runs her hands through her hair. She thinks about Scott. She thinks about Seth. They're alone and hurting—and she can't help them.

_I can't even save myself._

A familiar smell fills the air. She turns to see one of the cooks smoking near the dumpster. “Hey.”

The guy looks up at her. 

“Can I bum a smoke off you?” she asks.

With a shrug, he hands her a cigarette and flips open his lighter. She slides the cigarette in between her lips and takes a long drag, eyes closing peacefully. As the smoke fills her lungs, she can finally breathe.

**

Seth hardly believes what he's seeing—and he's seen some crazy shit in his life. He stands in the warehouse with Richie, surrounded by pallets filled with cash held securely underneath plastic wrap. Hundred dollar bills stacked to his waist. There must be millions stored away in here.

“And it's all ours,” Richie says.

Seth tilts his head. “What's the catch?”

His brother gives him a smooth smile. “Why do you think there's always a catch? Don't you think we deserve this?”

“You know we deserve shit,” Seth says. “Now tell me, what's the catch?”

On cue, the sound of heels clicking on the cement echo in the warehouse. Santanico slithers from the shadows in a long black dress and moves to stand beside Richie. She runs her hand over his chest and gives Seth a challenging look as though to tell him, “Your brother is still mine.”

He shakes his head. “I'm out of here.” 

As he heads to the door, Richie calls out. “I need you, Seth.”

The four words stop him. It's easy. Too easy.

“And I know you need me too,” Richie says.

Seth thinks about that last packet of heroin inside his pocket. He knows as soon as he leaves Richie, he's going to shoot up. But if he stays...if he stays...he might be able to save whatever is left of himself and his brother.

So, he turns back and says, “What's the job?”

**

Kate sits inside the pick-up truck as Freddie finishes with his phone call outside in the parking lot. She drums her fingers on top of her thigh and lets out an impatient sigh. She hopes Freddie returns with some good news, either about Scott or about a new job. It's getting quiet out there and that makes her nervous. 

Two months have passed since she saw Seth, even longer since she saw her brother. Almost three weeks have gone by since she and Freddie killed any culebras. Her crossbow waits in the cargo bag in the bed of the truck, so to keep her fingers busy, she taps a restless melody on her thigh.

When Freddie opens the driver's side door and gets in, she asks, “So?”

He doesn't look at her.

“What is it?” she says.

“My contact back in Houston has some information on Scott,” he says.

She sits up. “What kind of information? Is he okay?”

“He's not alone, Kate.” Freddie hands her his phone.

When she looks down at the downloaded image caught on some surveillance camera, her stomach drops. It's Scott, and Freddie's right, he's not alone.

He's with Seth.

**

Seth isn't surprised when Scott appears in the group one day. After Santanico made Carlos disappear, Scott's next best thing was probably to join Richie and Santanico's crew. What surprises Seth is that he doesn't make any attempt to make him leave and go find Kate and the ranger.

But Scott seems to understand why.

“You don't have to protect me,” the kid tells Seth as they pack weapons inside a warehouse. “I can take care of myself.”

Seth shakes his head. Sounds just like another Fuller.

“What are you even doing here?” Seth asks.

Scott snarls. “Just because I'm not like you and Richie—”

“That's right, you aren't!” Seth looks around the crowded room. Men with assault rifles preparing to go into a battle. He lowers his voice. “You aren't like me and Richie or anyone else here. You don't...” 

“Belong?” Scott fills in for him. “Thanks, but I already knew that. I've known that my whole life.” He jams a magazine clip into a firearm. “Just stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours.”

Seth watches as Scott picks up his bag of weapons and heads toward the storage van. He thinks about what Kate said the last time he saw her.

_“I worry about Scott all the time. I don't care what he is. He's still my brother.”_

His gaze moves from Scott to Richie, who's giving instructions to a group of men. Richie meets his eyes and gives him a nod. Seth returns one.

Richie had found him, like Kate said. He got his brother back. So until she finds Scott, Seth will make sure he's safe.

For her.

**

_Kate prays._

**

Even through the gunfire, Seth recognizes the Regulator. He tucks and rolls behind a wooden crate. When he peeks around it, the gunman fires another shot. Wooden splinters fly into his face. Seth tightens his grip on his pistol, takes in a deep breath, and emerges from his hiding spot.

**

_For protection._

**

But when Seth jumps to his feet, the Regulator's gun barrel isn't pointed at him.

Scott appears, firing a round of bullets at the assassin. The Regulator doesn't budge. He keeps his rifle aimed at Scott.

“Shit.” Seth races toward him.

Right before the Regulator fires.

**

_For grace._

**

Seth is helpless when Scott crumbles to the ground. “No!” He releases his anger through a hail of bullets. Each one strikes the Regulator, but no damage is done. The Regulator grins at Seth as though he remembers each previous altercation. This time, Seth knows the killer doesn't want him to escape alive.

As the Regulator moves the rifle to Seth, a harsh screech fills the room. Santanico, in all her culebra glory, swoops down from the ceiling. She lands on the Regulator, knocking him on his ass. The rifle falls from his hands. With one quick snap, Santanico removes the Regulator's head from his body. Blood splatters her skin and she smiles.

With the Regulator taken care off, Seth finds Scott and kneels next to him. The bullet had torn a hole into his chest. _Please don't let it be wooden._

“Come on, kid,” Seth says.

Scott's eyes remain close.

**

_For love._

**

Scott's eyes fly open. He sits up, sputtering and gasping for air. 

“That's right, kid,” Seth says, grinning. “Breathe.”

Scott touches the bullet hole. “That asshole shot me.”

Seth gestures to the decapitated Regulator. “That asshole's dead.”

Around them, the battle is coming to an end. Malvado's goons dwindling down to just a handful. It's another victory for Richie and Santanico. 

Seth helps Scott to his feet. It's another victory for him too.

**

_As Kate gets into bed and turns off the light, she can't help but feel someone is listening. Listening and answering her prayers._

**

As soon as Freddie shares the info about the warehouse explosion outside Corpus Christi, Kate knows that's where she's going to find Scott.

“We're going,” she tells Freddie.

The ranger frowns in the driver's seat as they drive down I-37. “What makes you so sure?”

“Warehouse explosion ring any bells to you?”

He sighs. “Tell me the truth, Kate. If we go, who is it that you really want to find?”

She stares out her window as the landscape zooms by. The truth?

The truth is she wants to find her brother alive and well.

The truth is she wants to find Seth and tell him everything is all right—and mean it. 

The truth is she wants this bloody war to end so Freddie can return safely to his family.

The truth is she wants to believe all of this can happen, but she isn't sure how much longer her faith can endure. 

“Myself,” she answers, turning to Freddie. “I want to find myself again.”

He doesn't say anything, just keeps his gaze on the road as they continue driving in the opposite direction of Corpus Christi. Then, the tires squeal as he does a sudden U-turn in the middle of the freeway. 

They head south.

**

It makes sense that after everything, the war ends in fire.

Exhausted and covered in the blood of dead culebras, Seth makes it to the top of the stairs to find Richie and Santanico cornering Malvado on the landing. Below them, the flames intensify. 

“Richie!” 

His brother is focused on Santanico. Her body entwined with Malvado. When she pivots, Seth sees the wooden stake jutting out of the lord's chest. Santanico holds the other end. Her hands twist along with the smile on her face.

Metal beams creak and moan as the fire grows stronger. If they don't get out here now, the entire warehouse will crumble on top of them.

Seth tries again. “Richie, we gotta get out of here!”

“Go!” Santanico shouts at Richie.

“I'm not leaving you!” Under Richie's scales and fangs, something softens.

“I have to finish this!” She glares at Malvado and hisses. “I want to see the life vanish from his eyes.”

“I can't— ” Richie's voice breaks. 

Santanico's features return to the girl with dark eyes and full red lips. She kisses Richie and says, “Thank you, Richie, for setting me free. Now, you are.” In a blink of an eye, she's a culebra again. She slams the wooden stake all the way through Malvado's chest. He roars as the two of them fall over the landing and into the fire below. 

“No!” Richie's screams gut Seth.

He grabs Richie, but his brother doesn't move.

“We gotta go!”

Back in his human form, Richie sobs. “I can't leave her.”

“You heard her, Richie,” Seth says. “You're free.”

Metal crashes nearby as part of the roof caves in.

Seth pulls Richie's arm and together, they race down the stairs. 

**

Kate collects her arrows from the piles of dust she just made on the burning warehouse floor. Twenty minutes ago, she and Freddie had pulled up to the inferno and found themselves facing a dozen culebras. As she scans the area, a figure emerges from the smoke. She raises her loaded crossbow.

When the smoke clears, she gasps.

Her brother staggers toward her, holding a wooden stake in one hand. “Kate?” Scott's voice is filled with confusion, relief. 

It really is her brother, and he's alive and well.

She embraces him. _Thank you, God._

As she holds Scott, another figure emerges from the smoke. It's two, actually. 

With one arm holding his brother up, Seth stumbles out of the fire with Richie. Their gazes connect, and she remembers that night she ran into his arms inside another burning warehouse.

It's different now.

Their arms are full.

Full of their brothers, full of love, full of luck, full of chances.

“Kate!” Freddie runs to her, coughing from the smoke. “We have to go!”

He helps Kate get Scott out of the warehouse and into the passenger's side of the pick-up truck. She doesn't get in.

“Kate, let's go,” Freddie says.

She waits.

_Come on. Come on. Come on._

A moment later, Seth and Richie exit the fire. 

Even though Freddie protests with a shake of his head, Kate ignores it. She tosses her crossbow into the back of the truck and hurries to Seth's side. She grabs Richie's other arm, and she and Seth help him into the back. She climbs in after them.

Freddie drives them away from the fiery warehouse. She turns from the destruction and looks over at Seth and Richie. Richie's head is slumped forward, his knees pressed against his chest. Seth sits across from him, eyes closed.

It isn't until she's settled beside him that he opens them. Those dark eyes search her face. She curls her fingers around his arm.

Without saying a word, they thank each other.

**

Later.

But not that much later.

Seth flips the plastic bag in between his fingers. When he thinks back to all that time he spent lost in the drug, it almost doesn't feel like that was him. He no longer needs this escape or this reminder. He has his brother back.

He has Kate back.

Without giving it a second thought, he drops the bag into the toilet and flushes.

When he walks out of the bathroom at the gas station, he stares at the stars in the night sky. They have to find shelter soon for Richie and Scott soon before the sun comes up.

He looks over at the parked truck, where Richie sleeps in the back. Scott is passed out up front. Kate and the ranger are talking a few feet away from the vehicle. He doesn't have to wonder what their discussion is about.

He only wonders if Kate will stay or not.

**

“Go home, Freddie,” Kate says.

The ranger crosses his arms. “You know, the last time I left you, you took off with a Gecko. Something tells me it's going to happen again.”

“Don't worry.” She glances at Seth, who's watching them from a distance. “I'll be fine.”

“What about them?” He points with his chin at the two sleeping culebras in the pick-up. 

“They'll be fine too.”

“How do you know that?”

She thinks about her prayers: for protection, for grace, for love.

For miracles.

As her gaze fixes on Seth again, she realizes anything is possible. 

“Do you believe in destiny, Freddie?” Kate asks.

He shrugs. “I believe in a lot of things.”

“Good. It's good to believe.” She hugs him. “Thank you for everything.” 

Then, she walks to where Seth is standing. She reaches into her coat pocket, touching the keys to the pick-up truck she had swiped from Freddie's pocket. Another habit she picked up from Seth.

Along with fighting and surviving.

When Kate makes it to Seth, he steps off the curb. She looks up at him, not sure if she wants to smile or cry or both.

Seth takes Kate's hand. Dried blood and dirt caked under their fingernails. Palms pressed together. Warm, comfortable. Why did they ever let each other go in the first place?

“So,” she pauses as she chooses her next words wisely, “do you want or need me to stay?

“Want and need are two different things, Kate.”

“Do I need to?” 

Seth pulls his hand from her grasp, shakes his head, and says, “Do you want to?”

She tries to smile, but tears slide down her cheeks instead. “Ask me again.”

He lifts his tired expression, eyes glazed over from fighting a war he didn't know he already won. “Stay. Will you stay with me?”

“All right, Seth,” she says, nodding, because she finally believes her own words. “It's all right now.”

Kate takes his hand and doesn't let go.

Never again.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys understood the "flipside." ;) Seriously, all Kate and Seth do in this story is hug and hold hands and it still makes me weepy. 
> 
> So, technically this is my 10th Seth/Kate fic in a span of three months. With the season 2 premiere a few weeks away, I'm thinking about taking a short break, and this is a fitting story to end on--well, until inspiration strikes me again. Thanks so much for reading and for every comment and kudos!


End file.
